$750,000 bail is set in girl's kidnapping

A mother charged in the kidnapping of a young girl from a Northwest Side pharmacy was ordered held in lieu of $750,000 bail as both her attorney and authorities questioned her mental health.

Prosecutors said Jeannette Roldan bought clothes and a stuffed animal for the child at a thrift store before taking her to her ex-husband's home. She gave conflicting accounts about the child, telling her two daughters she was baby-sitting her while claiming to her ex-husband she found her wandering in an alley, authorities said.

The child, 3 1/2-year-old Sana Patel, was recovered nearly seven hours after she was taken from the store when one of the ex-husband's relatives recognized the girl from news reports and called Chicago police.

The child became separated from her parents as the family shopped at a CVS store in the 3100 block of North Pulaski Road Monday afternoon. Security video allegedly showed Roldan peering through the window of the front door and then leading Sana away after the girl walked outside the store.

Sana's father, Irfan Patel, said he was at the back of the store when he first noticed that his daughter wasn't nearby. He said she has not talked about what happened.

"I'm upset with her," Patel said of Roldan. "I don't have any idea why she did it."

Assistant State's Atty. Erin Antonietti asked Circuit Judge Laura Sullivan to deny bail. Roldan never tried to contact police and the clothing purchases -- including a hat, gloves and winter coat -- showed she intended to keep the child for some time, she argued.

Both the prosecution and defense acknowledged there are questions about her mental health.

Roldan's attorney, David Smith, said his client's family has a history of bipolar disorder and depression. She saw the child was unattended and tried to help, but "because of her mental state, she may not have taken the proper actions to contact the authorities," Smith said. Roldan also suffers from diabetes, he said

About a half-dozen of Roldan's relatives were in court but declined to comment.